Chief Askew's Diary: March 16, 1930

Still 'rounding up the skinners'; Biltmore House is opened to the public

Things were quiet on this Sunday morning. “Rounding up some of the skinners,” Chief Askew wrote, referring to the escapees from the skin game his men had raided the night before. If you recall, a skin game is a fixed and illegal gambling operation.

Later in the day the “Boys” caught a couple of Atlanta men, both drunk, driving a stolen 1928 Nash touring car “in good condition, disk wheels, extra wheel on rear, curtains up all round.”

In Asheville, North Carolina, visitors crowded to see the treasures of Biltmore House, which had opened to the public for the first time on Saturday. Paid subscribers can read on about why the Vanderbilt family took this unusual step that created one of North Carolina’s most popular tourist destinations.

The 1940 linen postcard showing the front of Biltmore House is being offered on eBay.